AOPA credit card --- WARNING.

"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...
In a previous article, "Chuck" said:

"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...
Anybody who carries a balance on any credit card is an idiot or a
sucker.

Or isn't as wealthy or well off financially as you are...

Nobody is *forcing* you to buy what you can't currently afford, you know.
Back before credit cards existed, people actually saved up money ahead of
time for major purchases, instead of all this "buy now and pay later"
instant gratification stuff.



Ya know... I didn't say that paying the balance off was a bad thing. I guess
what kinda ticked me off about your post was you said that people were
idiots or suckers for not paying the balance. I merely pointed out that some
people can't do that.

If I get a new job and have to go to Sears and buy $2,000 worth of tools, I
will not be able to pay the balance off in one month. But I gotta have the
tools if I want the job.




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In a previous article, "Chuck" said:
"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...
Nobody is *forcing* you to buy what you can't currently afford, you know.
Back before credit cards existed, people actually saved up money ahead of
time for major purchases, instead of all this "buy now and pay later"
instant gratification stuff.
If I get a new job and have to go to Sears and buy $2,000 worth of tools, I
will not be able to pay the balance off in one month. But I gotta have the
tools if I want the job.

And if you get a bank loan instead of carrying it on your credit card, the
interest rates will be *much* lower and won't go up on a banker's whim.

That's what I did when I needed a $5000 computer to set up my computer
consulting business right out of college. Ok, initially I was stupid and
used a credit card, but I changed to a bank loan as soon as I could get
one.

--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
I think I'd like to see a Simpsons episode starting up with Bart Simpson
writing 'I will not attempt to undermine the Usenet Cabal'.
-- J. D. Falk

"Chuck" wrote in message
om...

"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...
In a previous article, "Chuck" said:

"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...
Anybody who carries a balance on any credit card is an idiot or a
sucker.

Or isn't as wealthy or well off financially as you are...

Nobody is *forcing* you to buy what you can't currently afford, you know.
Back before credit cards existed, people actually saved up money ahead of
time for major purchases, instead of all this "buy now and pay later"
instant gratification stuff.



Ya know... I didn't say that paying the balance off was a bad thing. I
guess
what kinda ticked me off about your post was you said that people were
idiots or suckers for not paying the balance. I merely pointed out that
some
people can't do that.

If I get a new job and have to go to Sears and buy $2,000 worth of tools,
I
will not be able to pay the balance off in one month. But I gotta have the
tools if I want the job.


If I had to buy $2K worth of anything to get a job, I'd be much more worried
about which column they'd go in for the deduction off my taxes.

Jay

Chuck wrote:

"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...

In a previous article, "Chuck" said:

"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...

Anybody who carries a balance on any credit card is an idiot or a

sucker.

Or isn't as wealthy or well off financially as you are...

Nobody is *forcing* you to buy what you can't currently afford, you know.
Back before credit cards existed, people actually saved up money ahead of
time for major purchases, instead of all this "buy now and pay later"
instant gratification stuff.




Ya know... I didn't say that paying the balance off was a bad thing. I guess
what kinda ticked me off about your post was you said that people were
idiots or suckers for not paying the balance. I merely pointed out that some
people can't do that.

If I get a new job and have to go to Sears and buy $2,000 worth of tools, I
will not be able to pay the balance off in one month. But I gotta have the
tools if I want the job.

That is exactly why any financial advisor worth their salt recommends
that you save an amount equal to 3 - 6 months of expenses as an
"emergency" cash fund. Yes, it takes time to do this and a lot of
self-control, which most Americans no longer have, but that eliminates
the need to ever use a credit card for a situation like this ... or a
transmission failure in your car ... or a leak in your roof, etc.

Rather than save, most people use credit as their emergency fund. And,
as Paul said, that is a sucker play.

Matt

"Chuck" wrote in message . com...

Ya know... I didn't say that paying the balance off was a bad thing. I guess
what kinda ticked me off about your post was you said that people were
idiots or suckers for not paying the balance. I merely pointed out that some
people can't do that.

And those people are suckers. If you borrow money at several times
the going interest rate (which is what you'll eventually do if you
carry a balance), you're a sucker. The interest rate and fee
structures that are currently allowed, were considered loan sharking
in the recent past, a practice that was relegated to mostly criminal
organizations.

I saw a recent interview where a Harvard contract law professor was
asked to explain (in layman's terms) an average cardholders agreement.
Although the average consumer is supposed to know what is contained
in a contract, she said she wasn't sure about all the details herself.
On top of that, what she did ascertain is that the average
cardholders agreeement gives the card issuer the right to charge
whatever rate they want, and to change it with 15 days notice, usually
by means of an insert full of small print with your bill. So even if
you accept a bank's offer of a card for 1% interest for six months or
whatever, there is really not much keeping them from bumping your rate
(and making money) any time they want. The agreements are set up to
give the issuing bank a ridiculous advantage in every aspect of the
transaction. Borrowing money under those terms is truly a sucker bet.

I've almost never kept a balance on a credit card. If I can't get a
real loan (i.e. bank loan with reasonable terms), then that means I
probably can't afford whatever it is I want to buy.

John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)

Chuck wrote:

"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...

In a previous article, "RS" said:

If you have an AOPA/MBNA credit card then you should check the APR on

your

last statements. MBNA has been raising the APR on AOPA cardholders, even

if

you pay on time.

Anybody who carries a balance on any credit card is an idiot or a sucker.


snip

Or isn't as wealthy or well off financially as you are...

Just the opposite. Someone who is wealthy could afford to carry a
balance, it is folks who aren't who shouldn't be. I'm with Paul, I've
never paid a cent of interest on a credit card in nearly 20 years now.
People who carry credit card balances, for anything other than a real
emergency, are suckers as he said. And people who are smart, will save
up an emergency fund so that even emergencies don't require carrying a
credit card balance.


Matt

"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...
Chuck wrote:

"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...

In a previous article, "RS" said:

If you have an AOPA/MBNA credit card then you should check the APR on

your

last statements. MBNA has been raising the APR on AOPA cardholders,
even

if

you pay on time.

Anybody who carries a balance on any credit card is an idiot or a
sucker.


snip

Or isn't as wealthy or well off financially as you are...

Just the opposite. Someone who is wealthy could afford to carry a
balance, it is folks who aren't who shouldn't be. I'm with Paul, I've
never paid a cent of interest on a credit card in nearly 20 years now.
People who carry credit card balances, for anything other than a real
emergency, are suckers as he said. And people who are smart, will save
up an emergency fund so that even emergencies don't require carrying a
credit card balance.



Maybe I am in the wrong newsgroup to be discussing this. I would imagine
that most people in this newsgroup make damn good money and can afford to
have a nice chunk of change in the bank.

Unfortunately, I am not in that situation.

Luckily, we don't use credit cards other than Sears, so we don't worry much
about interest on credit cards.




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Chuck wrote:

"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...

Chuck wrote:


"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...


In a previous article, "RS" said:


If you have an AOPA/MBNA credit card then you should check the APR on

your


last statements. MBNA has been raising the APR on AOPA cardholders,

even

if


you pay on time.

Anybody who carries a balance on any credit card is an idiot or a

sucker.


snip

Or isn't as wealthy or well off financially as you are...

Just the opposite. Someone who is wealthy could afford to carry a
balance, it is folks who aren't who shouldn't be. I'm with Paul, I've
never paid a cent of interest on a credit card in nearly 20 years now.
People who carry credit card balances, for anything other than a real
emergency, are suckers as he said. And people who are smart, will save
up an emergency fund so that even emergencies don't require carrying a
credit card balance.




Maybe I am in the wrong newsgroup to be discussing this. I would imagine
that most people in this newsgroup make damn good money and can afford to
have a nice chunk of change in the bank.

Unfortunately, I am not in that situation.

Actually, it has little to do with how much you make, at least once
above a truly subsistence income level, which varies by locale. Someone
below this level, truly has no options, but running up credit cards
doesn't help. They need to seek help from a charitable agency, etc.
until they can restore sufficient income to live on.

The real issue in 95% of situations, is that spending is simply out of
line with income. I've taught financial management seminars in my
church and studied this topic for about 20 years. Admittedly, their are
people who simply don't have enough income to live on, but that is
really a fairly small percentage of the population. In almost all
cases, spending can be adjusted to live within one's means and even save
money, however small amount that may be at first. Living on credit
means you are paying money for interest that gives you no value in the
long run. Over the course of your lifetime, you are even poorer for it.
That is a simple fact.


Luckily, we don't use credit cards other than Sears, so we don't worry much
about interest on credit cards.

Smart move.


Matt

"Chuck" wrote in message
. com...

"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...
In a previous article, "RS" said:
If you have an AOPA/MBNA credit card then you should check the APR on
your
last statements. MBNA has been raising the APR on AOPA cardholders, even
if
you pay on time.

Anybody who carries a balance on any credit card is an idiot or a sucker.

snip

Or isn't as wealthy or well off financially as you are...


You have to be wealthier to carry a balance than not.

Mike
MU-2

in article , Paul Tomblin at
wrote on 11/25/04 10:02 AM:


Anybody who carries a balance on any credit card is an idiot or a sucker.

Or they know perfectly well what they're doing and accept the consequences,
distasteful as they may be. I made a conscious decision to carry some credit
card debt in order to get my pilot's license. I had no other immediate
options, and I don't regret doing it.